On the surface, Culdcept Saga looks a bit like OmiyaSoft just updated the PS2 game with polygon graphics. That does it a bit of disservice, though, as it actually has a pretty impressive list of unique features far beyond any previous game in the series - Doublecast spells, moveable land sections, customizable player avatars, and much more. All of the new features are awesome, but my favorite new feature by far is dual-element creature cards (which somehow didn't break the game's exceptional balance, thanks to some very subtle weaknesses!)

It's no secret I love me some Magma action, but one day I was thinking, "could I make an effective deck that includes all of the dual-element creatures (minus E cards) but won't stall badly early on?" FUBAR is what I came up with. It is ridiculously fun, and even with land prereqs that include all four elements, it usually gets a fairly fast start.

Gold Idol helps the start, of course, but it's nowhere near enough on its own to overcome 10 creatures with 2 prereqs apiece. A bad shuffle would mean doom, so I included what Whooh05 and I call "Zen lube" - multiple Reincarnation and Wind of Hope spells. If you don't have what you need now, reset your hand and dig deeper. You'll get it with quickness.

All that card drawing muscle comes with a fairly steep G cost, though, and so do the creatures in this deck - 15 of them are 90G or more! I'd normally be at a severe G disadvantage because of this, so I came up with a combo I haven't seen used yet - Conspiracy + Tengu. He's just expensive enough to make everything else in this deck free, and he adds a really nice Attacks First bonus along with his unique movement ability. If I manage to put Gold Idol down early and put Conspiracy on right after, I have creatures all over the place in very short order. Sometimes I don't even visit the castle if I'm on a roll.

Possible modifications:

Bandit. I could see the addition of Bandit being very useful. He'd help the initial land-grab and Bandit + Magma/Storm Armor is just diabolical with dual-element creatures fueling the heist.

Land Protection / Domovikha. Adding a little untargetable action could make a big difference. Frost Beast would be a nightmare as long as I held an item or two.

Acid Rain / Holy Blight. I could see idols such as Marble and Ivory being problematic. I'd happily kill my own Gold Idol to free things up a bit.

Item-wise, I only included two - Magma and Storm Armor. Every creature in my deck can abuse both. Abuse, you say? Oh yes... because every dual-element creature counts twice for its respective armor - just one Jack-o'-Lantern gives +10ST and +10HP to Magma Armor, for example. Combine this with free creatures all over the map, and those two items get scary in a big hurry. Heck, both of the avatars don't even need items, thanks to that same dynamic.

The spells are basic but versatile - a bit of creature movement, a bit of card control, a bit of card draw, and a bit of Drain Magic to keep my opponent from hoarding G. I kept it basic mainly because I spend a lot of time with Reincarnation and Wind of Hope; I don't have much time to cast others.

Counter Amulet / Gaseous Form. I only have 3 Crushers, but Jack-o'-Lantern is one of the best item lures in the game, and being 10/60 means he won't die when I lure out that Amulet.

Intrusion. I have no untargetables, but I do have Paralyzer + Chariot. If they somehow take it, I take it right back. Now.

Capture. Look two bullet points up. If they manage to steal an item, I either go even bigger with my own, or lure their item out.

Movement control. I use Conspiracy defensively - I wait for them to Holy Word me, then overwrite it with Conspiracy. Reincarnation to keep my defense up.

G deprivation. Same as above. I use Drain Magic and Jack-o'-Lantern to steal G back, and Reincarnation to keep doing it.

Map-wise, I only play this deck on maps where I can keep Conspiracy on for as long as possible. That means Santana Village, Colosseum I, Second Morning, X, etc. are no good. Small maps are also no good because FUBAR needs room for plenty of creatures to exert its full power.

Overall, I pay little attention to matching creatures to their respective land colors unless I get stuck on prereqs early. Otherwise, I just Relief and Chariot my minions around as I feel like it, matching land when it suits me. Likewise, with every element represented in FUBAR, the entire map is my playground. I just go with the flow.

I wouldn't say this is a HoF-level deck by any means (mainly due to the prereqs, despite the ways I've offset that), but it is extremely fun to play. If they can't halt my momentum, they will get FUBARed. ;-)

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